Fed Lowers Rates, Again

The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index is +4 on its scale of -100 to +100. It has hovered between +1 and +4 for two months. At the start of the year — when the Fed began aggressively lowering interest rates — the index was at +23.

The index is based on Americans' ratings of the economy, their personal finances and the buying climate. Fifty-three percent rate the economy positively, a measure that has remained steady since mid-March but is down sharply from 71 percent in January.

For the third straight week, 62 percent say their finances are in good shape, down from 66 percent in January. And 41 percent call it a good time to buy things, down from 47 percent in January.

Ratings of the Economy
	6/24/01	1/7/01	Record high	15-year average
National Economy	53%	71%	80%	41%
Buying Climate	41%	47%	57%	38%
Personal Finances	62%	66%	70%	57%

The index fell seven points in one week in January (tying the one-week record), six points in one week in February, five points in one week in March, and another five points in one week in April. Nonetheless, all three gauges are still above their averages in the 15-year history of ABCNEWS/Money magazine polls.

 Interactive Look at Confidence Data

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+ 4
Last week	+ 4
Four months ago	+13
Jan. 7, 2001	+23
Jan 16, 2000	+38 Record high
2000 average	+29  Best full year
1992 average	- 44  Worst full year
Feb. 9, 1992	- 50  Record low
Average since 12/85	- 9

A Closer Look

As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans. The index is +39 in higher-income households compared to -45 in the lowest, +26 among college graduates but -35 among high-school dropouts, +10 among whites but -27 among blacks, and +13 among men and -4 among women.

Here's a closer look at the three components of the ABC/Money index:

  NATIONAL ECONOMY — Fifty-three percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, up two points from last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

  PERSONAL FINANCES — Sixty-two percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, unchanged over the past three weeks. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998, and last matched in January 2000. The worst rating was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.

  BUYING CLIMATE — Forty-one percent say it's an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, down two points from last week. The best was 57 percent Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

Methodology

The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week's results are based on 1,028 interviews in the month ending June 24 and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Field work was conducted by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The ABCNEWS/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by three. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.